Shakespeare’s Cymbeline explores the tension between the desire for freedom and the obligations individuals owe to their social and political communities. Through the course of the play, characters seek freedom from the authority of their fathers, kings, emperors, and gods with devastating consequences. Tragedy is only averted once these characters understand that the freedom and authority they variously desire is only fulfilled in a mutual love or good will that is bolstered by forgiveness. The play’s setting at the birth of Christ is carried through in the Christian argument and outcome of the plot.
